Buy now and pay later

We have all known credit purchases for decades, but not long ago some new companies have turned that business around with a more innovative one. And the offer they make is very tempting: buy now and pay later.

They offer to make the payment 2 or 3 weeks after having made the purchase and having received the product at home. And in this way, the customer has the guarantee that he has safely received the product that he really wanted to buy.

Those that provide this service indicate that it is a great competitive advantage for the e-Commerce that offer it to their customers, since they buy with greater security and end up being loyal to the store in question.

And I am not saying that this is not the case, but in the end the customer must pay for their purchase, and if, as many do, they distribute the cost in several payments, and consequently pay additional interest, which means they end up paying more. 

There is no secret here. You pay for what you buy, and if you do it later and they don't charge interest, it's because the store that sells pays interest to the platform that facilitates said payment. Very similar to what happens with current credit cards.

The "problem" that exists, and that is already happening, is that by delaying the payment process even for a few days, there are people with no common sense who get into debt beyond their means. It is happening with many young people, the so-called millennials and generation Z.

And those debts of more than doubtful collection, are being sold as "subprime credits" and being put on the market. As if we had not learned anything from what happened many years ago with junk mortgages.

History repeats itself because some foolish authorities allow it to be repeated. And why is it that these things almost always start in the USA!!

In any case, this buy now and pay later market looks set to continue to grow and large companies are joining it. One of the last to announce it has been Apple, which has said that it will incorporate it into its Apple Pay system.

Apple is very strong financially, and has very good information on customers who pay with its system, so they can better control who grants this type of credit.

Within the financial system, this is another part of the pie that is taken from the banks. Will this be a first step for us to see an Apple Bank?